1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally relates to systems and methods for controlling access to Web sites, Web pages and other network-accessible content.
2. Background
The Internet is a dangerous place for children. For example, using a Web browser, a child may intentionally or accidentally access Web sites that contain sexually explicit content (such as pornography), that contain violence or other forms of graphic or “extreme conduct,” that promote bigotry or hate speech, or that promote gambling, recreational drug use, or alcohol consumption. Furthermore, many Web sites provide social networking opportunities that may expose children to sexual predators. Consequently, many parents reasonably fear for their children's online experience. Yet there is much that is good for children on the Web, too. The problem is how to let children on the Web without watching them incessantly.
Automated solutions exist in the form of Web filtering software (also referred to as “Internet filtering software” or “content control software”). Such software is designed and optimized for controlling what content a user is permitted to access on a particular machine or network. Such software may be used by parents who wish to limit what Web sites their children may view from home computers, by schools performing the same function with regard to computers found at school, and by employers restricting what content may be viewed by employees while on the job.
Web filtering software is limited in that it applies rigid algorithms to determine which Web sites will be blocked and which will not. These algorithms are often inexact. As a result, content that is entirely appropriate for children is sometimes blocked while content that is inappropriate for children is sometimes allowed to pass. Since conventional Web filtering software cannot be made to “learn” from such mistakes, there is no real way to remedy this issue.
Furthermore, the algorithms used by Web filtering software reflect only a single viewpoint with respect to what constitutes inappropriate or undesired content. A parent or other user that employs the software may have a different viewpoint. This different viewpoint may be rooted in any number of factors, including but not limited to age, upbringing, education, profession, religious affiliation and/or community standards. If the viewpoint provided by the software does not match that of the user employing the software, then the filter may be perceived as too wide, too narrow, or both depending on the subject matter being filtered.
Additionally, Web filtering software is typically binary in the sense that it will either block a Web site or pass a Web site for every user of the machine or network upon which the software is installed. However, within a household, there may be one user for which certain types of Web sites are deemed appropriate and another user for which the same types of Web sites are deemed inappropriate. For example, a parent may wish to allow a teenager access to certain types of Web sites but prohibit a toddler from accessing those same Web sites. Current Web filtering software does not provide this capability.
What is needed then is, is a system and method for controlling access to Web sites, Web pages and other network-accessible content that overcomes the aforementioned shortcomings of conventional Web filtering software.